An active quick-fire question-and-answer game

Age group: Grades 1-4

Number of students recommended: 25

Subjects/skills learned: Any subject or combination of subjects (math, English, science….)

Object of the game: To think quickly and correctly answer questions on an individual basis.

Setup: No set up needed.

Game Play: All of the students start by sitting on the tires. The teachers call out to start, and all the students get up and move throughout the playground (similar to musical chairs). When the teachers call out stop, all the students must find a tire and sit down. Randomly the teacher chooses a row or column and ask that group of 5 students to answer a question as quickly as possible (for example, for geography, the teacher might ask each student to give a state capital, and students might say “Raleigh,” “Salt Lake City,” etc). Each of the students in the row must answer the question, one after another from one end of the row to the other (answers must all be different!). Once all students from one row have answered, the teacher may call out another row to answer, or move on.

Game Conclusion: The game is completed when the teacher feels each student has been asked a sufficient number of questions or all material being tested has been asked.

Examples: The teacher yells “stop!” and all students find a tire. The teacher then asks asks one row for examples of reptiles (for a biology class). The students in the specific row say “lizard,” “gecko,” etc.

Tips and Variations:

• Geography – list capitals, states or countries starting with a specific letter
• Science – list numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, list symbols from the periodic table starting with a specific letter or from a group of metals
• Foreign Language – list words in the foreign language in a particular category, i.e. colors, animals, etc.
• Instead of asking only one row at a time, ask each row to participate in a sequence